


White is pretty Sus.

by nerdblogfornerds



Category: Among Us (Video Game)
Genre: Among us death animation, Bad Ending, It's fun please read it!, Multi, Mutual Pining, Real life among us game, but also cute stuff, lots of death, non binary characters, science!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:00:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26998576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerdblogfornerds/pseuds/nerdblogfornerds
Summary: Follow a nonbinary White as they try to survive a maintainence check on The Skeld, and people are hot but also die. Like... lot's of death.Trying to utilise in world info, made a little bit of stuff up, I've been really creative depending on some of the murder animations and explaining why certain things happen. Innersloth is a very prominant company and people want their ships. Or some people are just murdery.If you like it plz let me know because I don't do this sort of thing often. ＠＾▽＾＠(and by THIS SORT OF THING I mean upload fic, lol)
Relationships: Black/White (Among Us), Orange/Pink (Among Us)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 12





	White is pretty Sus.

The wake-up sequence of the Skeld was… intensely uncomfortable. See, for long flights, everyone was kept in stasis pods above the Cafeteria, out of the way. When important ship systems needed maintenance the ship would wake people up and deposit them in the Cafeteria, which was fine, but waking up stood up was usually super disconcerting. At least, this was the case for White as they slowly fluttered their eyes open from their standing position. They hated it, and their first action was to walk to a food dispenser and get a cup of coffee. Did they drink coffee often? No. Was it all these modern ships way of depositing you on your feet and expecting you to be okay with it that led them to the bitter bean water?  
Yes. Yes it was.  
The first sip they went to take missed as their cup gently bonked against their visor, and White noticed their travelling compatriots for the first time, as they laughed good-naturedly at their misfortune. White laughed back, blushing behind their visor as they scratched the back of their neck through the spacesuit. They gently pressed a button on their mask, and it slid up out of the way, a little O2 warning popping up as they did so. Yes, there was enough O2 at the moment, but their mask would slide back into place if it began to run low. That was fair enough.  
They sipped their drink and stepped aside to let Designation: Pink, Designation: Orange, and Designation: Black, approach the food dispenser, all smiling.  
“Good morning, White!” Orange greeted warmly, her visor sliding up and out of the way. She had decorated her suit with a little plastic leaf on her head, making her look like an actual orange. Of course, these two people had never met, as was the company policy. Innersloth was a pretty notable space-faring company, but that was as much a boon as it was a curse. Many, MANY people applied to work for them, despite the startling number of deaths on their ships.  
“Morning Orange,” White greeted warmly, despite not knowing if they were friend or foe. It was nice to assume people were friends until proven otherwise.   
“God I hate waking like this,” Pink grumbled, moving in where Orange moved away with their bowl of oatmeal and strawberries.   
“On your feet?” Black asked, a tall and rather imposing looking figure stood behind the pair.  
“Yes!” Pink sighed, exasperated. Their visor stayed firmly in place as they grabbed their breakfast, instead opting to pull it up a tiny amount to fit their sandwich in. Not everyone liked revealing their faces, and that was totally fair. No one was gonna judge.   
Black stepped up next, their mask sliding out of place to reveal a surprisingly handsome man, black hair to match their suit and darker eyes. White admired them as they mulled over their choices, fingers hesitating over different buttons.  
White raised their drink to their mouth before a light surrounded them and an alarm sounded.  
“MY OATMEAL!” Orange cried as the light brightened for a moment.  
The emergency meeting button teleported everyone around the table, locking onto their DNA, and bringing with them only their suit, which was coded to match each individual person on the ship. Everyone’s breakfast was dropped to the floor, mugs and bowls and plates clattered around the room as the group of strangers glared at the culprit.  
Purple was crouched on the table, hand hovering over the button, smirking slightly.  
“… Come oooon…” they cooed. “It was kinda funny.”  
White glanced at Black, who dropped their hovering hand as it had yet to choose a breakfast.  
“We only get ONE chance at breakfast EACH,” Orange snapped. “And I just LOST mine!”  
“Oh, it was only a joke,” Purple scoffed, rolling their eyes.  
“I vote we shoot them out the airlock,” Yellow grunted, arms folded, a discarded plate of eggs behind him.  
“Now let’s not be too hasty,” White piped up quickly. “We shouldn’t KILL key members of the crew.”  
“White’s right,” Green piped up. “We’re all necessary to the continuation of the ship. Of course, the ship can survive with just two crew members, but if they’re from an enemy company, then the ship will get stolen.” Green gestured to the group. “Every single one of us is necessary.”  
“Yep!” Purple piped up. “I’m NECESSARY.”  
“You’re on thin fucking ice though,” Pink whispered.  
“Agreed,” Brown added, along with a couple of other voices.  
Purple still had a shit-eating grin but looked a little more nervous as they slipped off the table.   
“While we’re all here, we might as well do our assigned tasks,” Blue noted, having not said much of anything yet.  
The group concede, and people begin to filter out of the room as a couple of people stay to get breakfast as they simply hadn’t had the chance yet.  
White joined the majority, heading to Admin to clock in their key card. Their visor slid down slightly to make them aware that one of the tasks in this room was wiring. They pushed the visor of their face as Pink growled in frustration at their key card and everyone yelled at them. It was an equal amount of encouragement as it was abuse, and White slipped out of the group to do their task. For a few moments it seemed easy enough but after a few silly mistakes they dropped their confidence and just worked CAREFULLY. Turns out, being cocky made wiring hard, and you shouldn’t really make assumptions, especially when working with delicate ship parts.  
By the time they were done with their task most people were done with their key cards, and White was able to make it to the Admin panel-  
And a bright light shone down on them and the group were stood around the Cafeteria table.  
“Purple I swear to-!” Yellow started before cutting off, seeing no one at the button.  
“I called the meeting,” Blue replied sombrely. “Not Purple.”  
Orange sighed. “Come on, we expected better from y-“  
“Because Purple is dead.”  
There was silence around the table. No one knew what to say. For a moment.  
“Where, who?” Green asked, narrowing their eyes.  
“Over there.” Blue pointed across the table, past White who glanced over their shoulder. And there they were, the legs of a purple clad person, blood pooling around them. The top half was obliterated, somehow destroyed to the point there was nothing left. And no one had heard a thing.  
“Holy shit-“ Pink whispered, hands gripping the tables edge. White heard Brown retch.  
“Statistically, considering the IRSP, opposing companies, and the new race of parasitic aliens discovered, two out of every ten crewmates are going to be murderers, bent on the death of the whole crew,” Green told everyone, dragging their eyes away from the body. Everyone turned their attention back to the table slowly, White frowning slightly.  
“The Incarceration Re-education Space Program is the least of our worries here-“ they started, before they were interrupted.  
“We can’t vote for anyone, we all hated that guy,” Red said with a simple shrug. Everyone was silent a moment.  
“You’re right,” Yellow agreed. “He was a dick.”  
“Orange was pretty mad at him though,” Brown noted.  
“Yeah, and I was in Admin with like, half of the group,” Orange replied simply.  
Brown puckered his lips and raised his eyebrows. “Oh yeah, I forgot.”  
“You FORGOT?” Orange replied, glaring.  
“Hey, hey,” Pink interrupted, gesturing softly at the group. “In a situation like this, you can point fingers at ANYONE.”  
White frowned. “But someone’s DIED. We need to figure out who did it, so who wasn’t in Admin when it happened?”  
“We’re running out of time,” Blue noted. “We have to make a decision now.”  
“I’m abstaining,” Yellow announced, and above their head a little green check box lit up.  
“Me too,” Blue added with a sigh. “We can’t possibly figure out who did it.”  
“White took an AWFUL long time to do wires in Admin,” Red noted.  
White looked over at Red, who was glaring at them across the table. “… That has NOTHING to do with this?” White replied, high pitched. “What… where… WHY?”   
“I’m JUST saying, you’re looking pretty sus.”  
“Say ‘suspicious’,” Black replied, eyeing Red. “Go on.”  
Red was silent. “This isn’t about that.”  
“Just say the whole word, it’s not hard,” he continued.  
There was a little beeping noise, and everyone felt a weight released from their legs. “We have to get back to tasks now,” Blue sighed, rubbing his brow. “We ran out of time, and the ship needs us. Let’s go.”  
When the discussion was going on, what was left of Purples body (and blood) seemed to have disappeared.  
As everyone splits off, Orange quickly approaches White and grips their arm.  
“We’re friends now.” She was smiling widely at them, bouncing orange hair slipping out the sides of her visor.  
White blushed slightly at the attention, laughing nervously. “Oh- Okay…” they replied, smiling back. Though the Cafeteria was brightly lit, a shadow fell across the pair. They both glanced up at Black who gave them a small smile.  
“You’re both ah… Probably in need of protection,” he noted. “There’s dangerous people here.”  
Orange glared and pouted, holding tighter onto White. “I can protect us.”  
Black put a hand on each of their heads. “You’re also the same height.”  
“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Orange continued, clearly offended, pressing closer to White. White could feel their face heating up considerably. They weren’t prone to getting touched, let alone to physical affection. If this didn’t let up, they were gonna lose their mind.  
“I mean I’m much bigger than you both, and I’m happy to be backup for your… incredible fighting prowess,” he replied playfully, eyeing them both through his eyelashes as he removed his hands.  
Orange kept pouting a little before nodding and releasing White. “I can agree to that.”  
White let out a breath, breathing in suddenly and sliding their visor down with sudden force, hiding their face away. Black eyed them and chuckled softly and knowingly. Orange glanced between the pair. “What? What is it?”  
As the this went on, Blue approached the group, clearing his throat. “So. I hear you are offering to watch over people.” The three glanced at him, and he raised his visor to match the others, deep blue eyes watching the group intently. “A larger group is a safer group.”  
“Agreed,” White replied simply. Blue had found the body before, so she didn’t entirely trust him, but the best place to keep your enemy was as close as possible. She was sure she had heard that at some point. That probably made sense.  
“Excellent. Then it’s settled.” Blue said with a short, curt nod. He pushed a little strand of hair off his face where it had been stuck with sweat.  
Orange eyed him, and the glisten on his forehead. “You okay there?” She asked.  
“I just found a dead body. Shall we go?” He replied simply, gesturing for them to move on and clearly trying to avoid talking about it.  
White had zoned out a second or so ago, looking at where the body had been, the Skeld automatically removing the corpse after it had been registered as ‘Dead’ at its discovery. Stood where the body had been, was Red, glaring intensely at White.   
White raised their visor and turned their attention back to the group.  
“I never did my Admin task,” they admitted. “Can we go there first?”  
“I also need to do it,” Blue added.   
Orange grabbed White’s hand and began to pull them along. “Then let’s go!”  
The group went to Admin first, heavy boots clanking on the ships metal corridors. In a group, it was a surprisingly reassuring sound. Strength in numbers was probably gonna be the way to go.  
At Admin, White did their security card first, swiping it right first time and trading with Blue. Orange started to hop up and down the little steps in boredom as Blue took several attempts, their stoic face shifting as his brow pushed down slightly. White joined Orange at stair hopping as Black laughed at the pair. After this, Orange admitted they had a trash job, and after checking, White did too. They both headed out of the room with Black following them. After a moment, in the entry way to Storage, the pair glanced back to see Blue wasn’t with them.  
“Where’s blue?” Orange asked, glancing back.  
Black frowned and darted back down the corridor, checking in Admin before looking around another corner into the Cafeteria. He nodded and darted back. “He was heading off to join Pink and Brown, looks like they were going to Weapons.”  
“Pink is also pretty tall,” White whispered to Orange.  
“Not as tall as Black though,” Orange whispered back, turning White away from Black. White glanced over their shoulder at Black, looking at him with concern.  
“Are you sure?” they asked, staring up at him with wide eyes.  
Black smiled softly back, tilting his head slightly. “Positive.” He gestured. “Now we need to get you both to Storage.” He put a hand on the small of their backs and began to push them to move a little faster, the pair laughing as they almost tripped over their own feet.  
The were both deposited next to the terminal, and then Black turned around to look at the rest of the room, glancing down the corridor every now and then. “You guys go, I’m keeping watch.”  
They both nodded and went back to giggling between each other as they argued over who got to pull the lever first. They both completed their tasks and White checked what their next task would be. They still had a bunch to do and prioritising them was not the easiest thing to do.   
“Uuuh, the next nearest task-“ White started, pulling their visor all the way down and selecting the map. “Iiis-“  
“White, where’s Black?” Orange asked quietly.  
White’s visor snapped up as their chest wrenched, looking around the empty room.  
“… Black?” White called fearfully. No response.   
Heavy footsteps rapidly came towards them down the corridor from Admin. Orange and White grabbed each other, hugging fearfully as-  
Black turned the corner. “I totally forgot to do Admin,” he admitted sheepishly, grinning at the pair. He sauntered over as Orange glared at him.  
“We could have DIED!”  
“And here I thought you could protect White, huh?” Black teased, reaching towards their face. Orange slammed their visor down and Black laughed, pulling his hand back. “Come on, we have other tasks to do.”  
Orange slid their visor up.   
“I have a wiring task in Security,” she admitted.   
“I have one in Electrical,” White added. “But I think I have another task in here.”  
Black frowned slightly. “Electrical?” he asked. “That’s a bit of a map dead zone, we should make sure you don’t go there alone.”  
Orange frowned. “Why is it a ‘Dead Zone’?” they asked.  
Black brought his visor down and began to gesture in the air, as if pointing to something they couldn’t see. Which they couldn’t. “On the map it-“  
An alarmed blared, cutting black off.  
White felt the blood leave their cheeks and tensed up, glancing at Orange for a moment before their visions were filled with light.  
They were all stood around the table in an instant, and this time… Blue was not there.  
Red slammed his fist on the table. “It was WHITE!” he snapped suddenly.   
Orange and Black glanced at each other. “White was with us the WHOLE time,” Orange told Red with a frown. “They’ve been no where near any of the murders, you’re just sus of them because they suck at wiring tasks.”  
“Ow, but you’re right,” White whispered back.  
“Did you SEE them kill Blue?” Green asked.  
Red sighed, clearly annoyed at the question. “No, but Blue went off with those three when we left the Cafeteria,” Red replied, gesturing to the group. “They could be defending them!”  
“Unlikely,” Green replied. “Three people in on it? It’s not statistically possible.”  
“To be fair,” Pink added. “We saw Blue head towards Weapons with us. He kind of stood in the doorway while we did our thing.”  
“By we, they mean me too,” Brown added with a little wave. “And yeah, we saw Blue. They looked super nervous.”  
“I think finding Purple really shook them up,” Orange whispered, leaning towards Pink. Pink nodded solemnly in response.  
“So White isn’t the culprit,” Green noted. “Who is? What about you Red. You found the body? And you were not a fan of Purple either.”  
Red gasped, clearly insulted. “I- I didn’t kill anyone! I found Blue, and I told everyone, like a good nice crewmate!”  
“Good and nice,” Black scoffed. “Who calls themselves that?”  
“I do!” Red snapped. “And I swear to god, White FAKED doing the wiring task in Admin!”  
“There are no gods in space,” Green whispered.  
“Whatever! Are we voting White?”  
Orange laughed. “Hell no! I was with them the whole time!” She narrowed her eyes. “But YOU however? You’re trying real hard to pin this on White.”  
“I wish we had noticed better that Blue wasn’t with us when we headed to Navigation,” Pink mumbled, glancing at Brown. Orange quickly took their hand.  
“It’s not your fault,” she told them firmly. Pink looked at Orange and gripped her hand a little tighter.  
A little ‘I voted’ appeared over Reds head, who was still glaring at White.  
White glared back and a little ‘I voted’ appeared over their head.  
Red gasped, insulted. “See! They’re even voting to shove me out the airlock!”  
“Because that’s what you want to do to them,” Black hissed.  
Orange shook her head and gripped the bridge of her nose. “God Red, you’re so stupid.”  
“Is this a skip vote then?” Yellow asked, glancing around the agitated group. “I don’t wanna send an innocent person out the airlock.”  
“… He’s stupid, but I don’t think he did it, he was in Admin with us when Purple died,” Orange muttered. The green tick appeared above her head.  
The consensus was that neither Red nor White were the killer, and the group abstained from voting. As everyone chose to abstain their vote, Red stabbed his finger in White’s direction.  
“Orange was able to assure your innocence-“  
“Hey?” Black replied, frowning.  
“-By being with you, then that’s what I’ll do to.”  
“I was also there?” Black tried again, waving his hand between the two.  
“I’m gonna stick to you like hot glue and-“ he gestured to the rest of the group. “If I DIE? It was White.”  
White sighed and dropped their visor. The results of the vote were shown and only Red and White voted for each other, with everyone else choosing not to vote.  
The moment they were released from their places around the table, White stormed off to the left, their expression hidden behind their visor. One set of footsteps followed, Red catching up to their side and glaring at White.  
“Hello, traitor,” he hissed.  
“You’re so stupid,” White grumbled.   
“Why don’t you raise your visor, show me your face?” Red added, leaning in close to them as they entered Upper Engine. White took a step away and Red took a step closer. White glanced back, hoping someone else would join their little group…. But no. White had stormed off and not left enough time to group up properly. It was just the two of them.  
With a tight chest and shaking hands, White elbowed Red sharply in the ribs and continued their path. They were headed to electrical, but White had to double check the map to realise this was probably the longest route to take there.  
Red caught up, hand on his ribs, gasping for breath. “So, what task are you going to fake now?” he hissed, doubled over slightly.  
“I have a wiring task in Electrical,” White replied coldly.  
“Why are we going THIS way?” Red asked, frowning as he slowly drew up to full height.  
“So I can DITCH you,” White hissed. “I don’t want you with me. You might try to kill me.”  
Red glared. “How DARE YOU, accuse me of being a killer? Don’t think I didn’t notice you defend the IRSP,” he hissed, leaning as close to White as he could. They pulled away again, eyes widening behind their visor. Oh he knew. Oh no.  
“So what?” they asked after a moment, trying to play it off. “It’s not a big deal.”  
“Yeah, well, statistically, there’s at least one person from the IRSP in every crew, and you’re the only one who doesn’t seem to have a problem with that,” Red continued, his hand slamming on the wall suddenly before they got to Lower Engine. His arm was in their way, blocking their continued travel.  
“… Then go call an emergency meeting,” White said slowly. “And tell everyone that. While I go do my TASKS.”  
White slid under Red’s arm and continued rapidly through Lower Engine and into the hall that lead to Electrical.  
“And don’t think I don’t notice that you’re leading me to a trap as well!” Red hissed. “Electrical? It’s a Dead zone. No cameras, hidden from the doorway, and there’s access to the vent system in there.”  
“You know an awful lot about where best to kill people,” White replied coldly, turning away from Red into Electrical. The room was dim, but bright enough to see where you were. There were several large boxes/cupboards with wires spilling out the bottom doors, several of them blocking the other half of the room.  
White ignored Reds existence and walked around the corner, finding the wall panel and clicking it open. They heard Red follow behind, stopping just behind them. Neither moved.  
“… What are you doing?” White asked softly.  
“Watching. Go.”  
They breathed out slowly, shaking hands going for the wires. Just do it slowly, carefully. Red isn’t going to kill you.  
They repeated this over and over to themselves as they hooked the wires back into place, replacing some old ones where they could, their trembling hands slowing the process.  
White could hear Red’s breathing.  
“… Can’t you just go do a different task?” White mumbled, trying to ignore how close they were.  
“I’m keeping an eye on you.”  
“Right. I get that. But you’re super creeping me out.”  
Red didn’t respond or move away, but despite his presence they were able to finish their task, placing the panel back on the wall.  
“We can LEAVE now,” White hissed softly, not turning around. They didn’t move.  
The lights flickered.  
“… Fine.” Red turned away, moving away from White who let out a held breath.  
The pair made there way around the corner, Red leading the charge toward the hall.  
And the doors shut.  
White froze in place, eyes on the door. They turned their head to glance at Red, ready to see a knife or gun or-  
“Oh god you’re going to kill me in here!” Red cried, turning to White, eyes wide and fearful.  
Ah. Red was genuinely just an idiot.  
White slid their mask up and rolled their eyes. “We’re going to be fine, idiot.” They walked up and began to bang their fist on the doors. “HEY! Hey someone?! We’re trapped in here!”  
“You-you’re going to bring someone here? Why! You’ll just get caught murdering me?!” Red cried, backing up to the wall.  
White sighed deeply. “It’s because, maybe, JUST maybe… I’m not the killer you’re looking for?” they asked, gesturing out with their hands as they shrugged towards Red.  
Red just stared at them in fear and confusion.  
“… You’re so stupid Red.”  
White glanced around the room and saw a dark shape disappear behind the hidden portion of the room. Their heart jumped into their throat as they realised the pair wasn’t alone.  
“Right, Red, I’m going to see what that was,” they whispered, slowly approaching the corner.  
“What WHAT was?” Red replied, sniffling slightly from where they’d been crying.   
“If I yell, come quickly to see who it was and report my body, okay?” White continued, tiptoeing to the corner of the boxes.  
“…What?” Red clearly had no idea what they were on about, so White just ignored them.  
They gripped the edge of the box, heart hammering, their head hurting with the pressure, and slowly glanced around the corner.  
There was a gentle metallic tap as the vent shut behind whoever had been there. Slowly, their toes almost catching on spare wires on the floor, White walked out of Red’s sight, peering around the space. What if they were just… waiting in the vents for White to get close? An animal stalking it’s prey. A fellow crewmate finding an easy target.  
White was mid-step further into the room when another thought struck them. What if the killer was watching them right now? White froze, eyes on the vents. They couldn’t see anything in there, it was too dark. They knew were being watched though. Sometimes you can just feel it, like a prickling in the hairs on the back of your neck, or a scratching in your brain.   
They stood, locked in space, eyes on the vent, unable to move.  
“Please don’t kill me,” they whispered softly, hands clenching and unclenching.   
A shifting noise came from the vent and the light slid further into the vent, whatever interrupting it having since moved. White took a slow, careful step backwards, still watching the vent. Then another.  
They darted rapidly around the corner, breathing out at the light that spilled in from the corridor-  
Yellow stood in the doorway, sliding their gun into their suit as what remained of red leant collapsed against the wall. White could see the red ‘Report’ button on their visor and didn’t react fast enough as Yellow activated first. The blood on their body disappeared as the group all transported to the Cafeteria again.  
White was still shaking.  
“Red is dead, I saw White do it,” Yellow announced loudly, voice shaking as they slammed their hands on the table.  
“What?!” Orange cried out.  
“I-I-“ White stammered, still shaken, unable to defend themselves.  
“Are you sure?” Pink asked, crossing their arms.  
“I SAW them!” Yellow cried. “Red was the most suspicious of them, White lead them to Electrical and killed them,” Yellow added confidently. “I know what I saw.”  
“You self-reported!” White cried in response. “You must have been the one to lock the doors as well! You trapped us so you could kill Red!”  
Yellow scoffed, rolling their eyes. “Oh, sure. Flip it on me now that you’ve been caught!”  
‘I voted’ appeared above Yellows head.  
Yellow was glaring at White, but White could see the hint of a smirk behind their grin.  
Black cleared his throat. “Yeah, no, it was definitely Yellow.”  
Yellow stared at Black; eyes wide. They took a moment to respond. “What?”  
“It’s obvious. You were quick to jump on Purple to vote him out the airlock. Then you killed him, knowing no one would investigate. You agreed with Red about White being ‘sus’, thinking we would vote another innocent person out, but that was unsuccessful, so you opted to ‘skip’, knowing that if people started asking too many questions about where people were and when, we would notice you were ALONE when Blue was killed.”  
Yellow gave an offended squeak.  
“And White has been with people whenever other people were killed,” Pink added. “And I can vouch for Orange, who can vouch for White.”  
“I don’t think that’s a particularly effect way of vetting people’s innocence,” Green added.  
“Fair, but we can vouch individually,” Pink added.  
“That IS true,” Green said with a nod. “And few people can vouch for Yellow.”  
Everyone was watching Yellow now, whose confidence had lessened greatly. “… But I SAW them!” they cried.  
“No, you didn’t,” White replied coldly. “Red was stupid, but he was innocent, and you’re a killer.”  
‘I voted’ appeared over White.  
‘I voted’ appeared over Black.  
“I trust White,” Orange announced firmly. ‘I voted’.  
“I trust Orange. So. Proxy vote,” Pink added softly, scratching where their jaw would be in their suit before ‘I voted’ appeared over their head.  
“Black’s argument is pretty sound,” Green said with a shrug, before their ‘I voted’ showed up.  
Yellow looked at Brown, crestfallen, hands shaking. “Please,” they whispered.  
Brown watched them a moment, before shaking their head. “I couldn’t save you now even if I wanted to.”  
‘I voted’.  
The Skeld released everyone’s feet. Everyone but Yellow, who was dragged across the floor towards storage.  
“No! NO!” Yellow cried, falling over and clawing at the floor as they rapidly disappeared down the corridor, the doors to Storage locking instantly behind him.   
Black approached White and instantly took their hand, holding it tightly.  
“Are you okay?” He asked, staring into their eyes.  
“Yeah, I just…” White stared back up at them, too shaken to get flustered. “I thought I was going to get killed by Red and then…” They looked away. “Yellow was stood in the door with a gun and Red was gone.”   
“There’s still a chance we were wrong, and you’re the killer,” Green interrupted, glancing around Black.  
White glared but Black sighed.  
“No, he’s right.”  
White’s eyes widened, staring up at Black. No, it made sense. It didn’t matter how much trust White wanted to have, everyone had to look out for themselves. And White was still suspicious. White looked away, shutting their eyes and letting their visor slide down to cover their face.  
“I should stay with White to make sure they’re not suspicious.”  
White glanced up as Black winked at them, and White beamed, smile hidden behind the mask. Black trusted them. He ACTUALLY trusted them.   
“The last person to do that died,” Brown noted, approaching the pair. “I’m heading to Storage, either of you going that way?”  
White double-checked their tasks and nodded, their visor sliding up. “I do, but I also have Asteroids to do.”  
“I also have Asteroids,” Black added. “So, we should do what you need to do in Storage then we can go do Asteroids, kay?” He kept his eyes on White, who smiled at him.  
“Sure,” they replied softly.  
The other three waved as they headed right, and the final six split in half.  
Black, Brown, and White, all headed south. When Blue’s body had been discovered White had one other task to do in this room, and thankfully it wasn’t a wiring task.   
“I have to fix wiring in here,” Brown told the pair, which White gave a silent prayer for.  
“I actually have to refuel the engines,” White replied with a little shrug.  
Black tilted his head and smiled warmly at White. “I can help you carry the gas can if you’d like?” he offered.  
White folded their arms and pouted. “I can carry a gas can! I’m strong!”  
Black leaned closer to them, hands in their pockets. “You’re also short.”   
“Everyone is short! You’re just freakishly tall!”  
Brown glanced between them. “Okay while you guys flirt I’m just gonna-“ they turned away and went to their wiring task.  
Black eyed White as he began to approach the gas can refill. “You’re flirting with me?” he asked. White flushed as they chased after him. “No! No of course not.”  
“You keep eyeing me though,” he purred.  
White grabbed the handle of the can, crouching as they slid it under the refill station and holding down the lever. “Shut up. That’s because I don’t trust you.”  
He crouched beside them, sitting on his haunches and smirking at them. They were barely a foot apart.  
“Ooh, that’s funny. Because I don’t trust you either.”  
“Ah.” White glanced up, taking their eyes away from the can to look at Black, their faces close. “So that’s why you keep eyeing me, huh?”  
“Whenever I can,” he purred. “There aren’t enough cameras around here, but I watched you in the corridors from security.”  
“… Oh, that’s kinda creepy.”  
Black’s face darkened. “You were alone with Red. I didn’t trust him.”  
White glanced back down, silent. They watched the can finish filling and they gently lifted the lever.   
“Thank you. I guess. Even if it wasn’t worth it, he still died,” they mumbled. They went to lift the can and frowned as it didn’t budge with their initial lift.  
“But you’re alive, aren’t you?” Black asked, standing up.  
With a little preparation, White grunted and lifted the can up to their chest, strapping it place with their arm. It was a lot heavier than expected.  
“Yep-!” White gasped, turning slowly.  
Black chuckled after them, walking slowly to keep up.  
“You good?”  
“Yep!” they repeated, straining as they carried the can.  
“Okay.”  
They reached the door to the hall.  
“You sure?” Black asked as White continued.  
“Totally easy!”  
“… You’re a lil’ slow there!”  
White didn’t respond, ignoring electrical as they passed the door and continued to the Lower Engine. There was no one else in here, and Black didn’t follow this far, so they completed the task in silence. They hefted the can up and poured the contents into engine intake, breathing a sigh of relief at the sudden loss of weight. Why did The Skeld wait until there were THIS many problems to wake people up? It was a very inefficient.  
White walked back, walking into storage and not seeing Black.  
“… Again?” they mumbled, frowning as they glanced around, only seeing Brown. Brown sighed in frustration and White smiled, darting over.  
“Wiring tasks suck, right?” they ask, making Brown jump and stare in fear. White smiled warmly and helped clip the end off the plastic tubing on a new wire, twisting it into place then wrapping it in tape. “Done.”  
Brown breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”  
“And I haven’t even killed you yet,” White added playfully, nudging Brown who laughed nervously.  
A shadow fell over the pair, White glancing up and smiling at Black. “Welcome back. What were you doing?”  
His visor was down, and he tilted his head. “Upload, in Electrical.”  
“Oh, I’ve done that before. It takes forever,” Brown noted, trying to make conversation.  
“… Uh huh,” Black replied coldly.  
Brown shivered. “Right.”  
White glanced between Black and Brown. “… Anywaaay, I actually need to finish refuelling,” they said slowly. “Can you help me this time?” They added, eyes settling on Black.  
“I thought you didn’t need my help, hm?” Black asked them.  
“… You’re right.” White looked at Brown. “Can you give me a hand?” They grinned slightly. “Get it. Can? Like a gas can?”  
Brown blinked.  
“That joke was terrible,” Black informed white.  
“Bet you’re smiling under your visor though,” White replied with a smile.  
“… You have no proof.”  
White laughed, smiling warmly at him. Brown sighed deeply and slipped around the pair, Black watching him go before letting his visor slide up.  
“Wanna help me?” White asked softly, watching his face for a change in expression. He sighed gently, watching Brown walk over to the refill station.  
“Hmph.”  
Hesitantly, White reached over and took hold of Black’s hand. They didn’t do this kinda thing often, but it was nice to have someone to be playful with. They figured he was jealous of the time White spent with Brown, and when they thought about it, Orange too. It made White blush to think of someone being jealous (over them?!), but they did their best to hide it as they pulled Black over to the refill station. Black was just staring at their interlocked hands.  
“Where’s your can-?” Brown started, looking around but stopping when they noticed it still in White’s hand. “Ah.”  
“I got this,” White assured them, crouching by the station and sliding the can underneath, turning down the valve as their other hand stayed in Blacks. He had surprisingly large hands. Not that surprising considering his height but still.  
When the can was full Black instantly shifted White out of the way, grabbing it before they could. Brown brought down their visor to check their tasks as the group walked, Black carrying the can easily in his other hand, still holding onto White as they headed to Upper Engine. Behind the pair, Brown was mumbling to himself about what his next task was, Black tilting his head slightly when they mentioned Med Bay.  
Black offered White the can when they reached the intake, and with his help, White was able to pour the contents of the can away, lazily dropping the can next to the engine.  
“So we should head to Asteroids next, and you should head to Med Bay,” Black informed Brown. “You can always meet up with us later.”  
“Are you sure?” Brown asked, frowning.  
“Yeah, you’re not going far,” White added helpfully, “And it’s better we get all our tasks done so we can go back to bed.”  
Black glanced down at White, a smile pulling the corner of his mouth. “Bed?”  
Brown nodded. “Alright, lets head that way together then split off.”  
White ignored black. “Good idea.”  
And so they did, walking down the corridor together.   
White could feel Black eyes on them, smiling gently at the attention. “You gotta stop staring at me, it’s like you suspect me or something,” White told Black playfully.   
“I won’t miss this,” Brown mumbled, turning into Med Bay without another word. White blinked, glancing at them. “Oh, Bye!”   
Black continued without glancing back, clearly not interested in Brown at all. White turned and took a step to catch up with Black, and the lights went off.  
They stopped in place, breathing heavily.  
This was only a small thing. It would probably be fine. No one would get hurt. Black was with them, no one would sneak out of the darkness. No one would get past Black.  
“Black?”  
Only silence met them. White frowned, stepping forwards, hands reaching out in the darkness. Black had been JUST there.  
…  
Right?  
“Black?” White tried again, louder, their voice cracking. They stumbled forward a couple of steps, finding the end of the corridor and where it met to the Cafeteria.  
“BLACK?!” White cried.  
Oxygen was rushing to their head, their breathing too hard, too heavy. It was just the lights; they weren’t in danger.  
They remembered Yellow, just stood there, sliding the gun into their pocket. That smirk. The blood.  
“Black, please,” White whispered, bottom lip wobbling.  
Hands gripped their shoulders, pulling them forward and White’s scream was muffled by the fabric of a space suit. A hand pressed tightly to the back of their helmet, ensuring their scream wouldn’t leave that space.  
“I’m here, it’s me, you’re safe,” Black told them, voice firm but soft, calm. White shook as they suddenly wrapped their arms around Black, shutting their eyes. “Where’d you go? The lights went out… White?”   
White didn’t respond.   
“You were right… behind me… White?”  
White gripped his suit in their hands, refusing to let go. Black let them hold on for a few moments before gently lifting them up, adjusting their grip and carrying them to Weapons.   
“See, we’re fine,” he told them softly, sitting them gently in the chair. The light of the display popped up, illuminating the pair so they weren’t still in darkness.  
White breathed in sharply, wiping their eyes with the back of their gloves.  
“You’re safe. Just sit here, I’ll watch you.”  
White gripped the handles to the outer guns, the Asteroid Displays sliding into view.  
“What about the lights?” they mumbled, hand shaking as they shot the asteroids into harmless debris.   
Black stayed where White could see them, right next to the chair, trying to watch the rest of the room and keep them safe. “I’m sure Pink and Orange will get it.”  
Sure enough, a moment later the lights returned, the room lighting and filling up again.   
Black eyed White. “You good?”  
White dropped their hands from the controls, breathing out slowly. “Yeah. Yeah.” They shut their eyes a moment. “Thank you.”  
“Not a problem.”  
White opened their eyes again to find Black staring at them. “What?”  
Black gave a little wiggling gesture with his finger. “You’re kinda in my seat.” He smirked at them. White’s eyes widened and they got up quickly, stepping aside.   
“My Bad! Go ahead.” They folded their hands respectfully in front of them as Black stepped up and sat at the console. White had fit comfortably in the chair, enough space to wiggle or put their feet up, so they couldn’t help to notice how Black just filled that space, feet laying flat on the floor where White could only reach their toes.  
Clearly the ‘I can see you staring’ effect went both ways, and Black glanced at White, raising an eyebrow. White flushed and stepped away from Black, leaning their back against the back of the chair and keeping an eye out for them as they completed their task.  
When Black was done, they stood up and walked around, meeting White on the other side of the chair.  
“So, what do you need to do next?” He asked. White slid their visor down, thought a moment, then slid it back out of sight.  
“What about you?” They asked, looking up at Black fondly. “We’ve been following me around to do my tasks, why don’t we prioritise you for a little while?”  
Black blinked, then tilted his head, smiling back. “No, it’s okay, I don’t mind helping you.”  
White slid their hands into their pockets, turning their eyes to the ground. “That’s not the point, I want to be able to-“  
An alarm blared and White froze up.   
“Oh no.”  
They both transported to the table, and White glanced around to figure out who was missing. They couldn’t relax as their eyes darted between each person. White, Black, Orange, Pink, and Green; that’s all that was left. Brown was gone.  
“I reported the body,” Orange told the group, the lump in their throat audible, hands clenched into fists.  
“I was there too,” Pink added, gently putting a hand on Orange’s shoulder. “We both walked up together and found them in the door to the Med Bay.”  
“Med Bay?” Black repeated, frowning slightly.  
“Yeah, wasn’t he with you, though?” Orange replied. “You and White?”  
“Yes, he was,” Black replied calmly. “Then he said he had to do the Medical Scan. And I’m pretty sure Green did that too.”  
Everyone looked at Green now.  
“… Though it’s true I separated from Pink and Orange to do Med Scan, I didn’t kill him,” Green told them simply.  
“Pink and Orange were together the whole time, and I was with White the whole time,” Black replied. “You could have easily done it when the lights went down, hoping to pin it on someone else as they walked past.”  
Green stood up straighter, frowning. “No. I didn’t-“  
“And-“ Black interrupted. “You’ve been awfully knowledgeable this WHOLE time, telling us statistics about the ships and killers. Why IS that?”  
“B-because I know things,” Green replied, starting to shake. “I just… I just know things, I’m smart-“  
“Smarter than us?” Black held Green in his charcoal eyes, locking him in his dark and unwavering stare. Then Black felt it, felt someone else staring at him, and he glanced down at White. There was fear in those eyes.  
“White,” Pink prompted softly, making White turn their head to pay attention. “Can you verify you were with Black the entire time?”   
White looked back up at Black, blinking at him, their expression sad and scared.  
Black hesitated, staring at their frightened face, before giving them a small, warm smile. “I know you lost me in the dark for a moment there, but you know I’ve been with you, right? I’ve been keeping you safe?” His hand reached down and took theirs, gripping it tightly.  
But Black was right. He had been with White, he had been keeping them safe. But White also couldn’t guarantee that Black wasn’t a killer.  
“… Black was with me the entire time,” White said finally, turning their attention back to Orange. “Except when it went dark, and they went ahead of me to Weapons.”  
“So Black is safe,” Orange replied.  
“And Green is our only suspect,” Pink added, looking over at Green.  
Green was shaking now, staring at the group in horror. The final four were sealing his fate with every calm word.  
“No! No it wasn’t me! I didn’t do it; it must have been someone else in the dark!” He was shaking violently, sweat on his forehead. “When I left Med Bay there was no one in there!” He looked wildly between them. “You have to believe me!”  
“When did you leave Med Bay?” Pink asked.  
Green’s eyes continued to dance around. “Just… just before the lights went out…”  
“And Pink and Orange were turning the lights back on, so they’re innocent,” White noted, folding their arms, eyes at their feet.  
“You don’t seem guilty,” Pink muttered softly. “But… there’s no one else.”  
“He didn’t seem guilty before, either,” Black noted. “And people kept dying. He just doesn’t want to be one of them.”  
‘I voted’ popped up above Orange, their usually bubbly face hardened and dark as they glared at Green.  
Next it was Pink and Black, almost simultaneous with ‘I voted’.  
White shook their head. “I won’t. I won’t do it.” They couldn’t vote for Green.  
Not when they knew it was Black.  
“It’s okay,” Black told them softly, gripping their hand tightly. “You don’t have to. His fate is sealed.”  
Green stared at the group. “Please… It wasn’t me.”  
“Get Fucked,” Orange hissed, gripping Pink’s hand tightly.  
The timer ended, and with a yelp Green was dragged across the floor and towards storage. The rest of the group were released from their decision-making bonds, and after a second, the door to Storage opened again, and Green was gone.  
As soon as they were freed, Black’s hand was on the base of Whites back, pushing them towards the corridor left.   
White’s eyes widened, trying to slow down.  
“Where are we going?”  
“You need to do Med Scan, I saw it on your visor,” Black informed them simply, turning them into Med Bay, past where Brown had been discovered.  
“And you?” White asked, tilting their head back to look at him, catching a glimpse of Pink and Orange walking past the door. White could have called for help. They did not.  
“I’ll keep you safe,” Black purred. His firm grip took hold of Whites waist, lifting them gently onto the scanner base.  
White turned to look at Black, a slight tremble in their hands.  
“But… Why would you need to protect me if we sent the killer out of the Airlock?”  
Black just smiled back, pressing a button to start the scan. White’s vision was blocked by a wall of light, panicking for a moment, thinking someone else had been found dead, before realising they were still in Med Bay.  
“… Black?” they called softly. No reply. White blinked tears out of their eyes. Black always disappeared like this. Just for a little while, just long enough to leave the room. Or reach a vent.  
White recalled the feeling of being watched in Electrical. The creature in the vent that stared at them.  
White breathed in, deep and ragged, hands pressing to their chest.  
“BLAAACK!” They screamed, voice and body trapped behind the barrier of white light.  
The barrier dropped; the task was done.  
“Yes?” Black asked, leaning leisurely against a wall.  
White was breathing heavy, body shaking, staring down at Black.  
“I know it was you.”  
Black smirked. “I’ve been with you the whole time.”  
Tears pricked the corner of their eyes as White dropped their hands and curled them into fists by their sides. “You’ve been using me.”  
Black dropped his smirk.  
“I’ve been your alibi.” White continued. Their voice was cold, a matching stare locked on their companion.  
Black pushed himself off the wall with a flex and offered White a hand. “No. No you have not been an alibi, White. I would never let anyone hurt you.”  
They looked at his hand, their own hands trembling with fear and rage.  
“I trusted you.”  
“You can still trust me,” Black pressed, stepping closer. “Come with me. You have a couple of tasks to finish and your sense of direction is… absolutely abysmal.”  
White didn’t laugh. They didn’t even smile. Just watched. Black took a deep breath, looking up at White on the pedestal, lit from below.  
“Please.”  
White moved slowly, eyes wet with tears, as they slowly raised their hand. It was a hesitant movement, and Black could see the tremble that was only settled when Black’s hand wrapped around theirs suddenly, tugging them off the platform and into his arms. White tensed, their body slow to work. Black began to lead them, faster than White could go, so Black lifted them slightly off the ground, taking away all of White’s mobility. White’s visor dropped, hiding their terrified expression.  
Outside the room, just to the right, Orange was stood, staring at a closed door to the Cafeteria.  
“Where’s Pink?” White asked, pulling Orange from their thoughts and making them jump. They looked over at the pair and smiled, but it didn’t reach their eyes. There was fear there.  
“We got split by a sudden closing door, and when it finally opened, I couldn’t find them.” Orange looked at the doors again. “This door is closed too; I think they’re behind it.”  
“Well,” Black said, gently setting White down on their feet. “If they’re just in the Cafeteria, we’ll walk around and meet up with them. We can fix the doors after, right?” He asked, tilting his head and smiling warmly.  
Orange took a moment to look at him, and when she did, she seemed to relax a bit. “Yeah… I guess you’re right. I think I was just scared to be alone.” She turned away from the door. “We should hurry, I’m sure Pink is scared too.”  
Black nodded. “Right, good idea.”  
Orange walked past the pair swiftly, White raised their visor and glanced up at Black, whose concerned smile turned into a sinister grin as soon as Orange had passed them. He glanced down at White, before putting his hand on their back and pushing them along, keeping a small distance between Orange and themselves as they went the long way around. That was Upper Engine, through the corridor, Lower Engine, then to Storage, and THEN they would reach the Cafeteria. That was plenty of time for something terrible to happen.  
White was silent as they made their way through the corridor, only managing to speak by the time they reached their first room.  
“Pink is already dead,” they breathed, voice barely audible.  
“Absolutely,” Black replied, eyes on the back of Oranges’ head.  
White breathed out slowly. “You didn’t kill Purple.”  
“No, but I saw who did,” Black told them. “Yellow hacked in, I knew he was different right away, and he knew I was too. It’s why he was so shocked I gave him in.”  
White couldn’t take their eyes off Black. “And you killed everyone else.”  
“Noooo, no.” He turned his hungry smirk down to them for a moment. “No, as I recall, you all chose to kill Green.” His eyes were impossibly dark, and his teeth shone in the darkness. “It was a beautiful moment. And you could have stopped it.”  
“I could have,” White agreed. “I wanted to know… Why,” they finished, staring at Black.  
Their discussion went with their journey, leaving the corridor between the two engines to enter the Lower Engine, Orange maintaining their distance.  
“Why what?” Black’s grin faded, blinking at their small hostage. White was still trembling, and every miss-step they took was instantly righted by Black, who simply carried them a moment until they could right their feet. There would be no noise to attract Oranges’ attention.  
“Why have you kept me alive? Was I just your excuse-?“  
“Stop saying that!” Black snapped, a growl in the back of his throat, while still managing to keep his voice low. Lower and deeper than White had heard it before. Black pulled back slightly, clearing his throat. “I didn’t mean to upset you,” he whispered. “Please don’t look at me like that. You don’t know how much I care about you.”  
White stared in awe and horror.  
“Why?” they hissed.  
Orange was in the corridor ahead of them as they left the Lower Engine.  
Black’s grip on White tightened, eyes locked together. “I wriggled my way into this ship, White, looking for someone compatible. And you?” He chuckled softly, his free hand gently gripping their chin. “Were not compatible. Not in the slightest. But when I got to your pod, I got stuck, able to wriggle in but not out. It wasn’t until the wake-up sequence that I was able to escape to the next nearest pod, which was a perfect match for me. But by then I had already spent several months with you.” He laughed, releasing their chin. “Space travel sure is a doozy.”  
White had never felt so confused, or cold, in someone’s embrace. “I don’t understand…”  
Orange had already turned the corner, walking as fast as they could to the Cafeteria.  
Black gently set White down on the floor, releasing them entirely. “Then let me show you.”  
The lingering expression on his face was soft and warm, something White wished they could see forever. Wished it was all of Black they would ever have.  
But he began to run, footsteps impossibly silent in heavy boots on the metal floor. His back was to them, chasing after Orange who didn’t even know he was coming.  
“PINK!” Orange cried, clearly seeing their body in the Cafeteria, beginning to run towards them. But Black was faster.  
His body extended upwards, splitting in the middle, arm’s reaching up to the ceiling before the whole distended torso came crashing down on Orange. The top half of her torso disappeared in Blacks gaping maw, before his body realigned itself with brutal swiftness, sending a sudden spray of blood, leaving only Oranges legs left. The legs collapsed quickly; one leg raised mid-step crumpling down with the rest of what had been Orange.  
His torso shifted and wavered as it fully restructured to its usual form, blood covering the floor and walls ahead of him. Slowly he raised his hands, removing his helmet with a twist, then tossing it to the floor. He gave his arms a slow roll back, the heat of his breath and blood in his teeth causing a red mist to form as he breathed out heavily.   
Black turned slowly to White, who had been frozen in place, watching their last friend die.  
“Oh, White…” Black purred softly, approaching them slowly, his boots finally making noise on the metal grating beneath his feet. “Don’t be afraid…. After all,… There aren’t enough people to vote me off now. It’s just me.” His body blocked out the light of the Cafeteria, but his eyes shone with its own unearthly light. “And You.”  
White stepped back, but their body quickly hit wall. Black chuckled, continuing to approach. White whispered something, barely even a whisper.  
Black tilted his head as he approached. “Stop?” he asked.  
White nodded.  
Black continued, not slowing for a second, only stopping when he could not get any closer. White turned their face away, whole body trembling against the wall.  
The monster’s hands slammed on either side of Whites head, causing them to cry out in fear.  
“Stop!” they begged.  
Black laughed; the smell of blood still fresh on his breath. “There’s that spirit I expected from you. However…” his voice was breathy, and he took one hand from the wall to grip their chin firmly, turning them to look him in the eyes. They trembled in his grip, tears finally spilling down their cheeks.  
“You still have tasks to complete.”


End file.
